Discussion: The Cheapest Concert Ticket Ever?

What was the least amount of money you’ve ever spent on a concert ticket?

Photo: AP Photo/File
Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards rehearsing at an unknown location.

In what almost seems like an alternate universe compared to the one we live in now, even the biggest acts in the world charged less than $10 for a ticket.

Yes, there was a time when you could purchase two tickets for The Rolling Stones, The Who, or Led Zeppelin and receive change from your ten-dollar bill.  Of course, back in the old days McDonald’s sold Big Macs for under a dollar and filling up your car’s gas tank didn’t run into double digits.

Today, well, that’s a different story.  Top-priced tickets for one of the The Rolling Stones’ “50 And Counting” shows are priced northward of $550 with additional fees putting them in the $650 neighborhood.  When you consider that many people buy their tickets in pairs, the end result could be a total higher than most folks’ monthly mortgage payments.

Photo: John Davisson
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Ill.

But what was the lowest priced ticket you ever purchased?  That’s what we’re asking you today.

However, this conversation-starter comes with a condition – we’re asking you for the lowest box office price you ever paid for a show and not the six-pack and a BK Whopper you might have paid a friend in exchange for an unused ticket.

To keep things in perspective, please include the year and, of course, the name of the act on the ticket.  Also state what kind of seat the ticket was for, such as upper balcony, floor, behind the stage or nosebleed.

Photo: AP Photo / New York University
NYU Steinhardt Vision Award Gala, Beacon Theatre, New York City

So, what was it? Does your own personal concert history go back so far that you can remember when tickets, even first row seats, were priced under $10?  Or did your cheapest purchases range anywhere from $10 to $20 to $30 or more?